Surah At-Talaaq (65) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) ➊ At the end of { اَللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمٰوٰتٍ … :} the Surah, in order to draw attention to the greatness of the commands mentioned within it, the creation of the heavens and the earth, the descent of His commands within them, and the mention of His knowledge and power have been stated, so that it remains in mind Who is the One giving these commands. In this the Surah, which consists of twelve (12) verses, the mention of Allah Almighty begins with His Taqwa, which appears about thirty (30) times in the form of His name, His pronoun, and attribution to Him, and at the end, the introduction of this Great Being is repeated with these attributes. (Ibn Ashur)
➋ The nature of the seven heavens has been described by Allah Almighty Himself, that they are layered one above the other, as He said: « اَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ سَبْعَ سَمٰوٰتٍ طِبَاقًا » [ نوح : ۱۵ ] "Have you not seen how Allah created the seven heavens one above another."
➌ In the Noble Qur'an, the mention of the sky has come in the singular form {’’ السَّمَاۤءُ ‘‘} as well as in the plural form {’’ سَمٰوٰتٍ ‘‘ }, but the mention of the earth has only come in the singular form; the mention of seven layered earths like the heavens has not been stated. Here it is said that Allah is the One Who created seven heavens and from the earth their like, that is, similar. One meaning of being similar could be that the earth, in its greatness, blessing, population, and sphericity (being round), is like the heavens. The second meaning, which most commentators have taken, is that just as there are seven heavens layered above, so too are there seven earths, one above the other. As evidence, they present the Sahih hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ أَخَذَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ شَيْئًا بِغَيْرِ حَقِّهِ خُسِفَ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلٰي سَبْعِ أَرَضِيْنَ ] [ بخاري، المظالم، باب إثم من ظلم شیئا من الأرض : ۲۴۵۴ ] "Whoever takes anything from the earth without its right, he will be made to sink down through the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection." The seven earths mentioned in the hadith obviously refer to the seven layers of this very earth on which we live, but whether the seven earths mentioned in the verse also refer to these layers, or there are six other earths like ours, only Allah Almighty knows. Looking at the vastness of the universe, it is not far-fetched that there may be other earths like ours, which are inhabited just like our earth, as He said: «وَ مَا یَعْلَمُ جُنُوْدَ رَبِّکَ اِلَّا ھُوَ » [ المدثر : ۳۱ ] "And none knows the armies of your Lord except Him." And Allah Almighty alone created the heavens and the earth; no one was present at that time to be fully aware of their secrets, as He said: « مَاۤ اَشْهَدْتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ» [ الکھف : ۵۱ ] "I did not make them witness to the creation of the heavens and the earth." The skill of invention that Allah Almighty has granted to man, through which powerful telescopes have been invented, and astronomers observe the universe with them, every day brings new discoveries. For us, it is sufficient that Allah Almighty has created seven earths just as He created seven heavens. As for their nature and specific meaning, only Allah Almighty knows. He has kept it undetailed, and in that is our benefit, because if its actual nature had been described, due to our intellectual limitations, it is possible that many people would have denied it.
➍ The command of Allah Almighty is of two types: one is the cosmic command, that is, whatever He wills, He says {’’ كُنْ‘‘} (Be), and it becomes; and the other is the legislative command, that is, Allah Almighty sends down His commands through the angels, meaning that between the heavens and the earth, the cosmic and legislative commands of Allah Almighty descend. In this too, the importance of the commands mentioned in this the Surah is being expressed, that they are the commands of the Creator and Owner of these magnificent heavens and earths.
➎ That is, the reason for telling you about the creation of the earth and the heavens is so that you may know the complete power of Allah Almighty over everything and His encompassing knowledge of everything. Then, when you become aware of His power and knowledge, you will not dare to disobey His commands.

12. 1 i.e., He created from the earth the like of them. That is, just as there are seven heavens, Allah has also created seven earths. Some have interpreted this as seven regions, but this is not correct. Rather, just as there are seven heavens above and below, there are also seven earths, between which there is distance and separation, and in every earth Allah's creation is settled. (Al-Qurtubi) This is also supported by ahadith. For example, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever seizes a handspan of land unjustly, he will be encircled with it from the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection." (Sahih Muslim) Whoever usurps even a handspan of land, on the Day of Resurrection, that much land from all seven earths will be made into a collar and put around his neck. (Sahih Bukhari) And the words of Sahih Bukhari are: "He will be sunk down to the seven earths," meaning he will be made to sink down through all seven earths. Some also say that in every earth there is a prophet just like the prophet who came to your earth, for example, Adam like Adam, Nuh like Nuh, Ibrahim like Ibrahim, Isa like Isa. But this is not established by any Sahih narration.

12. 2 That is, just as Allah's command is enforced and dominant in every heaven, in the same way His command prevails in every earth; He manages the affairs of all seven earths just as He does the heavens.

12. 3 Thus, nothing is outside His knowledge, no matter what it may be.

Allah is the One who created seven heavens and of the earth, the like of them [27]. His command descends among them [28], so that you may know that Allah is capable of all things, and that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge.

[27]
The Different Meanings of the Seven Earths:

This phrase can have several meanings. The literal meaning is that both "Samaa" (heaven) and "Ard" (earth) are relational nouns. "Samaa" means height, and "Ard" means lowliness. In this sense, we can call every low place "Ard" in comparison to a height, and every height "Samaa" in comparison to a low place. Thus, our earth is "Ard" in relation to the first heaven, and the first heaven is "Ard" in relation to the second heaven. In the same way, the sixth heaven is "Ard" in relation to the seventh heaven. In this way, just as there are seven heavens, there also become seven earths. The second meaning is that it refers to the seven layers or strata of our earth itself, which are called "Tabaqat al-Ard." Each of these layers is "Ard," or is "Ard" in relation to the layer above it, and this meaning is also supported by the hadith in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever unjustly takes even a little bit of someone else's land, he will sink down through seven earths on the Day of Resurrection." [بخاری۔ کتاب المظالم۔ باب اثم من ظلم شیأا من الارض]
And the third meaning is that it is quite possible that there are six other earths like ours present in this universe, and that there may also be living creatures inhabiting them. Until today, man has not been able to estimate the vastness of the universe, nor will he ever be able to in the future, and the reason for this is that as man invents more modern and powerful telescopes and builds observatories, new corners of the universe keep coming into view, and he begins to think that the universe is constantly expanding, as Allah says: ﴿وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنٰهَا بِاَيْيدٍ وَّاِنَّا لَمُوْسِعُوْنَ﴾ That is, We created the heaven (here, "heaven" means the vast expanse of space) with Our power, and We are constantly expanding it. And there are a few hadiths that support this meaning, although they are of a weak category.

[28] That is, for the management and regulation of the universe, Allah's decrees—both creational and legislative—continue to descend in these heavens and earths.